A fire broke out aboard the 'Kapitan Lobanov' in the Kaliningrad Region on March 19, 2024. There were casualties. Governor Anton Alikhanov was closely watching the incident. The injured were to be given all necessary medical aid. The regional authorities would provide support for the families of those affected.
News
ABDULLAH
Somali police and international navies were preparing on March 18 to attack the 'Abdullah', that was hijacked by pirates in the latest of more than 20 attacks since November by Somali pirates, two days after Indian commandos rescued the 'Ruen', also held by pirates. The police force from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland was on high alert and prepared to participate in an operation against the pirates holding the 'Abdullah', after they got reports that international navies were planning an attack. On March 17, the Puntland police said they had seized a vehicle that was transporting the narcotic khat to be supplied to the pirates on board the 'Abdullah'. Meherul Karim, chief executive officer of SR Shipping, stated on March 18 that they had not been informed of any such plan: "The safety of our crew members is our top priority. We couldn't afford to risk the lives of our sailors, so we declined the proposal for a rescue operation by the EU Maritime Force and the Indian Navy. We have already informed the government to deny any further approach to conduct military operations. The news of preparation to launch an attack caught our attention and we are trying to communicate with the government as we do not have any plan to allow any military intervention on the ship as there is always a risk of casualties on board." The ship was located four nautical miles from the Godobjiraan shore in north-eastern Somalia as of March 17.
Montevideo
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Kiel
The Port of Kiel concluded this year’s cruise season with the call of AIDA Cruises’ AIDAnova on Nov 4. The port welcomed a total of 215 ship calls from 26 companies and a total of 1,174,000 cruise passengers, marking the port’s busiest season ever. “We are closing the 2023 season with a good result. The development in the tourism industry shows a clear trend towards the cruise sector, which was also evident in Kiel this season. “For us, the main issue is to make maritime tourism more environmentally friendly on the port side. Shore power was the dominant topic for us and will continue to be so in the coming season,” said Dirk Claus, managing director of SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. Among the ships that visited the port during 2023 was the 'Disney Dream', the first ship from Disney Cruise Line to be welcomed in Kiel, as well as MSC Cruises’ 'MSC Euribia'. Earlier this year, the port of Kiel achieved a milestone by becoming the first German port to supply a ship with liquidified natural gas. Since then, the' AIDAnova' and 'MSC Euribia' have regularly bunkered LNG in the port of Kiel.
RED JET 7
Disruptions on Red Funnel's Red Jet service were to continue until at least March 22. A replacement vessel of Blue Funnel was running in its place but journeys are taking up to 50 minutes, as opposed to the usual 28 minutes. Red Funnel was to run three extra sailings from both Southampton and Cowes at peak times after a water jet issue was reported with the 'Red Jet 6' and a technical issue with the starboard jet room on the 'Red Jet 7'. The 'Red Jet 6' was docked in Southampton, alongside the 'Red Jet 4', while the 'Red Jet 7' was sent to the Wight Shipyard, East Cowes. Repairs to the 'Red Jet 7's jet propulsion system were underway. Red Jet crossings - March 19 to March 22: Departing Southampton: 05:30 / 06:40 / 07:50 / 09:00 / 10:20 / 11:30 / 12:40 / 13:50 / 15:00 / 16:10 / 17:20 / 18:30 / 19:40 / 21:05 / 22:30 Departing West Cowes: 06:05 / 07:15 / 08:25 / 09:35 / 10:55 / 12:05 / 13:15 / 14:25 / 15:35 / 16:45 / 17:55 / 19:05 / 20:15 / 21:40 / 23:05 Additional Blue Funnel crossings: Departing Southampton: 07:30 / 09:50 / 16:50 Departing West Cowes: 06:30 / 08:50 / 15:50
VIKING SKY
The National Accident Investigation Board has made 14 safety recommendations after the accident with the 'Viking Sky' on March 19, 2029, when it lost engine power at Hustadvika in Møre og Romsdal, and believed the cruise ship should never have left the dock. It was estimated that the ship was only about a ship's length away from hitting the ground, and with 1,374 people on board, the accident had the potential to become one of the worst disasters at sea in modern times, the Accident Investigation Board wrote in its report. A disaster alarm was sounded and a massive rescue operation was launched to evacuate passengers from the 'Viking Sky'. During the long and dramatic rescue operation, more than 400 passengers were hoisted and transported to shore by rescue helicopter. The accident was due to low oil levels in all the operating diesel generators' lubricating oil tanks, in combination with pounding and rolling in high seas. The investigation has revealed operational, technical and organizational security problems which in various ways contributed to the blackout. The direct cause of the vessel's engines stopping was low oil pressure, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate stated a few days after the accident. Due to the low level of the tanks, combined with the heavy storm, the oil on the tanks sloshed so much that air was eventually sucked in. The result was that the engines were not supplied with lubricating oil and stopped. Recovery from the blackout was time-consuming, and it took 39 minutes to get both propulsion engines operating so that the ship had enough power to maintain a speed of between 1 and 5 knots. Blackout exercises had previously been carried out on board, but never based on a full blackout without a stand-by generator available. The engineers were therefore faced with a situation they had not trained to handle. The situation was stressful, the control system was complex, and there was a need to perform certain actions in a given order. Inadequate training probably contributed to the recovery being time-consuming, the Accident Investigation Board stated in its report from March 19, 2024: https://havarikommisjonen.no/Sjofart/Avgitte-rapporter/2024-05
Itaqui
Brazil: Agriculture Officers Strike Federal agriculture officers decided to start the strike next Monday (22), which will directly affect trading involving perishable products and may cause delays in berthing and unberthing ships. Federal Revenue tax auditors also announced that they will intensify the general strike that has been ongoing since November last year, as reported in our previous newsletters. Next week, from the 22nd to the 26th of January, there will be no cargo clearance at the ports and airports of São Paulo and Bahia. This means that goods release services will be affected at Viracopos airport, the Port of Santos, Salvador customs (from the 23rd) and Guarulhos Airport. During the period, only perishable, live and dangerous cargo will be released at the sites, in addition to medicines and food, as they are considered essential. It is important to highlight that the import and export of goods of animal and plant origin require the consent and inspection of agricultural officers. The category's national union (Anffa Sindical) informed that the release of certificates and goods at ports, in this case, will respect the last day of the deadline set out in the rules of the Ministry of Agriculture. It is worth remembering that in the last meeting held on December 27th with Sindifisco Nacional, minister Fernando Haddad and the special secretary of Revenue, Robinson Barreirinhas, stated that they did not plan to make changes to the proposal presented for the payment of the efficiency bonus in 2024 , which motivated the continuation of the strike. The Superior Courts have already pacified the understanding that the strike movement cannot interrupt essential public services. Therefore, the functioning of the productive activity of shipowners/importers/exporters cannot be delayed by the Customs Inspectors' strike. Customs clearance must continue, regardless of the tax auditors' strike. The Judiciary has been intervening effectively on a case-by-case basis, in order to avoid the harmful effects of the Federal Revenue auditors' strike and maintain the regular activity of taxpayers at Brazilian customs. The strike could affect the port and customs sector. Our team is closely monitoring the situation in the North/Northeast ports and will inform you of any updates.
Kerch
Ukraine has managed a serious blow against the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea on Nov 4, 2023, severely damaging the corvette 'Askold', that was docked at the Zaliv shipyard during successful attacks on the shipping and port infrastructure of the Zaliv shipyard in the temporarily occupied city of Kerch. The “Askold”, which is able to carry up to eight Kalibr or Onyx guided missiles, has been hit by at least one Ukrainian cruise missile. The upper part of the ship was significantly damaged. The damage and destruction of warships of this type is important for the security of Ukraine. Reports with photos: https://www.merkur.de/politik/ukraine-krieg-krim-schwarzmeerflotte-russland-flotte-kiew-moskau-zr-92657747.html https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukrainian-forces-hit-russian-ship-in-kerch-aftermath-photo/ar-AA1julmU?ocid=weather-verthp-feeds
RED JET 6
Disruptions on Red Funnel's Red Jet service were to continue until at least March 22. A replacement vessel of Blue Funnel was running in its place but journeys are taking up to 50 minutes, as opposed to the usual 28 minutes. Red Funnel was to run three extra sailings from both Southampton and Cowes at peak times after a water jet issue was reported with the 'Red Jet 6' and a technical issue with the starboard jet room on the 'Red Jet 7'. The 'Red Jet 6' was docked in Southampton, alongside the 'Red Jet 4', while the 'Red Jet 7' was sent to the Wight Shipyard, East Cowes. Repairs to the 'Red Jet 7's jet propulsion system were underway. Red Jet crossings - March 19 to March 22: Departing Southampton: 05:30 / 06:40 / 07:50 / 09:00 / 10:20 / 11:30 / 12:40 / 13:50 / 15:00 / 16:10 / 17:20 / 18:30 / 19:40 / 21:05 / 22:30 Departing West Cowes: 06:05 / 07:15 / 08:25 / 09:35 / 10:55 / 12:05 / 13:15 / 14:25 / 15:35 / 16:45 / 17:55 / 19:05 / 20:15 / 21:40 / 23:05 Additional Blue Funnel crossings: Departing Southampton: 07:30 / 09:50 / 16:50 Departing West Cowes: 06:30 / 08:50 / 15:50
GARCIA DEL CID
The Government justified that the woman missing from the 'Garcia del Cio' had a single cabin, and the accused was not present. This was stated by the Executive in a parliamentary response after being asked by Podemos about who made the decision that a woman had to work with her attacker, and what responsibilities were going to be assumed in this regard. The Government recalled that the aforementioned complaint of sexual harassment took place in 2019 and added that when, in 2020, the Prosecutor's Office determined the dismissal of the criminal case,it did so because the complainant and the person she reported signed an agreement in which both explained that it had been a misunderstanding. Among other things, the agreement admitted the possibility of matching the minimum essentials with the occasion of her work activity and the complainant was also provided with an individual cabin. The Executive specified that the ship has its own agreement, with its own working conditions (salaries, permits, vacations, professional categories, etc.) but it did not include mobility of workers who were subject to this agreement. "When the missing person boarded, she did so because she had all the required reports: employment registration, certificate from the Social Institute of the Navy (ISM) and medical examination of fitness for boarding. A failure to board would imply not allowing the worker to carry out her job, counting with all the aptitude requirements. When the disappearance occurred, the person initially reported was not part of the ship's role, so he was not present when she set sail. During the entire procedure the CSIC has acted in accordance with current regulations. The Government indicated that the CSIC had carried out its own internal investigation of the events. The organization considered training in gender equality and prevention of sexual and sex-based harassment as one of the basic pillars for its prevention. Regarding the protocols for cases of sexual harassment of the CSIC, it clarified that on ships, in particular, in addition to systematically authorizing all requests for training on the subject given within the training plan of the research organization that are requested by the staff on-board or shore-based support for the activity of the fleet's vessels, numerous specific activities are carried out for the prevention, detection and treatment of incidents of any type. Finally, it highlights that in the CSIC, between 2019 and 2023, there were 12 formal complaints and 12 activations of the protocol, seven were admitted for processing and disciplinary proceedings were opened in five cases, and in three of them sanctions were applied. Cases that did not fall within the scope of application of the protocol were also monitored.
Bizerte
A fire destroyed the opening motors of the BIZERTE port bridge on July 26, 2023. The port remained closed to navigation from that date untill November 19. 2023, date of the re-opening of the Port to navigation.
Kiel
At the last weekend, the port of Kiel reached the mark of one million cruise passengers in one season for the first time. On Sep 16, 2023,, the MSC EURIBIA, AIDANOVA and EXCELLENCE CORAL called at the PORT OF KIEL, and on Sep 17 the AIDABELLA and AIDALUNA visited the Ostsee Quay. Kiel had already seen a positive trend in the cruise business in recent years, which had been put on hold by the slump during the Corona pandemic. In addition to the strong presence of the major European cruise lines AIDA, Costa, MSC and TUI, in recent years North American shipping companies, such as Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line, have increasingly chosen Kiel as a cruise destination in the Baltic Sea region for their fleets. As recently as 2022, Kiel's seaport recorded its busiest season ever with 243 calls and 835,000 passengers. For the current season 2023, 222 cruise calls have been announced.